Chapter 76: Plant Whenever You Want
“They’re here, they’re here.” Aunt Yao called out loudly into the house, “Boss, come out quickly, the Xiucai Scholar and Xiucai Scholar’s Wife are here.”
Old Man Wu was repairing the cabinet in the room when he heard the shout and immediately slipped on his shoes and walked out.
Lu Chengjing came to talk about the disaster relief grain. As soon as Old Man Wu heard it, he immediately sent his youngest daughter to fetch Old Man Liu and the others.
He didn’t mention Village Chief Lin, and Lu Chengjing naturally wouldn’t mention him either. After all, the Lin Family wasn’t involved in this village’s reconstruction work, so whether to call Village Chief Lin or not made no difference.
Aunt Yao brought hot water and a small basin of fresh red cherries to entertain the guests.
Lu Chengjing now had a wheelchair, which made movement much more convenient and could also be used for self-defense. Shang Wan sat with him for a while before taking Yuan Yuan to say goodbye and driving the ox cart home.
The home was the same as before the divorce. Xiao Hui heard the movement and came out to greet them, scaring the yellow ox quite a bit.
Shang Wan firmly comforted it and placed Yuan Yuan on Xiao Hui’s back, keeping both away from the yellow ox.
She unloaded the things from the ox cart, then removed the cart frame to let the yellow ox relax.
She casually found a stone slab to sit on. Shang Wan opened the space and glanced at the bok choy seeds she had scattered into the spiritual field earlier that day.
The bok choy had already sprouted and grown leaves, indeed faster than those planted outside the space, but Shang Wan still lacked a reference for exactly how much faster.
When she went to the Zhang Family to borrow vegetable seeds, she had asked Aunt Zhou. This bok choy normally took thirty to forty days from sowing to reaching a normal edible size, that is, a little over a month.
If she wanted to save vegetable seeds, she had to wait for the bok choy to bolt and form seeds, until the seeds matured, which would take about two months.
Shang Wan planned to save a small portion of vegetable seeds, not only to continue planting them herself but also to return some to Aunt Zhou.
Xiao Huan returned hugging three round muddy big white radishes. Seeing Shang Wan seemed to be thinking about something, she didn’t disturb her and rolled up her sleeves to sort the purchased items.
The tung oil cloth was to be used to cover the roof to prevent rainwater from leaking through the gaps when it rained.
The chipped bowls at home were put away and replaced with newly bought ones to avoid scraping mouths while eating.
The chopsticks of uneven lengths were thrown away and replaced with new bamboo chopsticks.
The rice and flour were all portioned out. The salt jar and oil jar were scrubbed clean, dried, and then used.
The radishes were washed clean and cut into strips, dried on the cleaned stone slab, and could later be used for cold salad or stewing in soup.
There were many trivial tasks, and Xiao Huan was busy without her feet touching the ground. When Shang Wan wanted to help, Xiao Huan repeatedly said it wasn’t necessary and told Shang Wan to sit and rest for a while.
Shang Wan had something on her mind and couldn’t stay idle. She changed into a plain simple cloth shirt, found the saw, and skillfully sawed wood.
Before starting work, she needed to build the wooden shed for He SIZhi and the other three to rest in.
Not long after, Shi Tou also returned. He was hugging four big white radishes in his arms, a gift from Aunt Zhou.
Xiao Huan was just about to process them the same way when Shang Wan brushed off the wood shavings from her sleeves and said, “Use two to make pickled radish, like the ones at the noodle shop.”
The pickled radish at the noodle shop was hot and sour with a hint of sweetness, crunchy when bitten into, appetizing and good with rice.
Xiao Huan had never made pickled radish before, but she could try.
After cutting and pickling the radishes, Xiao Huan took off her apron, grabbed the money bag, and walked out. “Most of the spices for stewing meat at home are used up. I’ll go to the Yuan Family to check, and bring back brother-in-law’s medicine along the way.”
The spices she mentioned were actually medicinal herbs, which could originally be bought at the apothecary in the city, but Xiao Huan thought they were too expensive there. Anyway, Yuan Langzhong’s family also had them, sold cheaper than at the apothecary.
Xiao Huan’s father had excellent cooking skills and had been a chef at a restaurant before he passed away. Xiao Huan practically grew up in the kitchen, so she was very familiar with kitchen work from a young age.
If not for the disaster in her hometown, her father being beaten to death by a young soldier, and her mother abandoning her to remarry with her younger brother, Xiao Huan wouldn’t have fallen into the hands of human traffickers, nor would she have escaped, been nearly frozen to death, been spotted by Lu Chengjing, and bought into the mansion to serve as a maid.
“Auntie!” Yuan Yuan rode over on Xiao Hui and waved her small hand at Xiao Huan. “Go! Go!”
“You can go, but you can’t take Xiao Hui.” Xiao Huan reached out to pick up Yuan Yuan and helped the little one adjust the small bun that had gone crooked on her head.
“Okay.” Yuan Yuan nodded her little head and waved her small hand at Xiao Hui, who was looking up at her. “Go back, play!”
Xiao Hui stood watching the two leave for a while, then slowly walked over to Shang Wan’s side and lay down, its tail swishing to the other side.
Shang Wan casually stroked it, saw its eyes half-closed as if ready to nap, then pushed it and pointed toward the mountain forest. “Now there are people at home, so you might as well go back and check on those wolf cubs.”
Hearing this, Xiao Hui stood up, rubbed its head against Shang Wan’s leg, and with its four limbs spread, ran toward the mountain forest.
“Sis, how about we buy a dog to guard the house?” Shi Tou suggested. “Xiao Hui has such a big family of wolves to care for, running back and forth must be tiring.”
Shang Wan placed the wooden board on the ground and said, “Even if you chased it away now, it wouldn’t leave.”
Did he really think her spiritual spring water was fed for nothing?
Shi Tou silently sighed that Shang Wan was skilled at taming wolves. His mind wandered, and he suddenly asked on a whim, “Sis, can you tame a tiger? I think tigers are more majestic than wolves.”
“Of course it’s majestic. It wouldn’t even need to spit out your bones after eating you.” Shang Wan tossed a small piece of wood at his head without looking up. “Don’t let your mind wander. Get to work quickly.”
“Oh.” Shi Tou touched his head and said while planing wood, “Sis, the villagers all have land. They usually plant grain and vegetables, eat what they grow, and don’t need to spend money buying. How about we clear a couple plots to plant too?”
Shang Wan glanced at him. “What did you hear this time?”
Shi Tou chuckled. “I heard that wasteland we reclaim ourselves doesn’t need tax. Sis, I think that patch at the foot of the mountain is pretty good. It’s close to home and easy to manage.”
“Your brother-in-law is a Xiucai Scholar. As long as the land under his name doesn’t exceed eighty mu, whether it’s wasteland we reclaim ourselves or not, it doesn’t need tax.” Shang Wan asked, “Who told you about this?”
Shi Tou said, “After leaving the Zhang Family, I passed by the Luo Family and saw Luo Da standing chatting with a few men from the village, so I stood there and overheard a bit.”
“After the earthquake, many wheat seedlings fell in everyone’s fields. Everyone thinks it’s a bad omen and worries the wheat planted last year will have a poor harvest. They’re all planning to reclaim land on the north slope. Plant a few more mu of proso millet while the season allows, so they won’t lack grain to eat come winter.”
“I think what they said makes sense. Sis, we’re living in the village. If we can properly manage a few mu of fields, we won’t have to worry about food in the future.”
“What you’re talking about is a good harvest year.” Shang Wan doused the hot-headed youth with cold water. “In disaster years with no harvest from the fields, how many sell their children and daughters just for a full meal?”
This world had neither greenhouse planting nor artificial rain. Farmers all relied on the heavens to eat. To really count on a few mu of thin fields for a stable life was too naive.
“I didn’t think that far.” Shi Tou drooped his head dejectedly and asked, “Sis, should we still plant land then?”
“If you want to plant, then plant.” Shang Wan said, “But the village land has long been divided up. If we want to plant, we do have to reclaim wasteland ourselves. I’m not clear on the exact rules. Wait for your brother-in-law to come back, and we’ll discuss it together.”
“Okay.” Shi Tou nodded happily, his earlier dejection completely gone.
